Before a boisterous crowd of 17,000 at Comfort Dental Amphitheatre — the largest crowd of the campaign for a Romney rally in Colorado — Romney said Obama had failed to live up to his promises and said he would break the gridlock in Washington.

"The question of the election comes down to this: Do you want more of the same or do you want real change?" Romney said.

From the budget deficit, to job growth to economic recovery, Romney said Obama had not accomplished what the nation needs. He said Obama would weaken the American military, and said "we may be looking at another recession."

The speech — crafted to sum up the themes of the campaign in one 20-minute flurry — was similar to one Romney gave at a rally Friday night in West Chester, Ohio, before a crowd of at least 18,000. Romney also spoke earlier in the day before 5,000 people in Colorado Springs.

The audience in Englewood on Saturday was eager for the message. Frequently during the night, the crowd broke into chants of "Three more days!" and, numerous times as Romney spoke, people shouted out, "We love you, Mitt!"

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In warming up the crowd, speakers painted the campaign as historically important.

"God has blessed America again," former U.S. Rep. Bob Beauprez said, " and brought forward a man in Mitt Romney who can lead this nation."

A performance by Randy Owen, of the country music band Alabama, also preceded Romney's speech.

Once on stage, Romney put that energy into a string of attacks on Obama.

"Change can't be measured in speeches," Romney said at one point. "It is measured in achievements."

"Instead of bridging the divide," Romney said in reference to the split between the parties, "he's made the divide wider."

Midway through the speech, though, Romney pivoted to a more inspirational message. He told a story about a Monument Boy Scout troop's American flag, which was to go into space aboard the space shuttle Challenger and then survived the explosion. Then he brought the troop's scoutmaster out on stage, holding the neatly folded flag.

"America is a nation where people give of themselves for things that are bigger than themselves," Romney said.

He closed the speech with a simple message, asking voters to believe in him.

"Walk with me," Romney said. "Let's walk together."

John Ingold: 303-954-1068, jingold@denverpost.com or twitter.com/john_ingold

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